In a conventional tire for typical use as on a passenger car or light truck, the tire tread is provided with a series of grooves, either circumferentially or laterally extending, or a combination of both, to form a plurality of blocks.
The goals of a tire during winter driving condition are to maintain good contact with the road, while providing for enhanced traction. However, since enhanced traction is best achieved by providing most biting edges to the tread pattern, while road contact is achieved by providing more surface area for tread contact, these goal are often conflicting.